Tony Parker and the corner 3

The 2012-13 Spurs are on pace to make more 3-pointers than any team in franchise history, and Tony Parker is playing a key role.

Not only does his penetration create many of the open looks the Spurs are feasting on, the French point guard — never known for his long-range shooting — is more accurate than he’s ever been from beyond the arc.

Parker actually came into the league as a fairly willing shooter, averaging about 2.5 3-point attempts per game over his first four seasons.

He just wasn’t particularly good at it.

Parker made only 31.5 percent of those shots, at which point he scaled back dramatically to focus on the forays to the rim that would make him a four-time All-Star.

Now, in his 12th NBA season, Parker appears to have learned how to pick his spots. He’s shooting a career-best 40.6 percent from beyond the arc by focusing on the one shot he can make consistently – that perennial Spurs staple, the corner 3.

“That’s the only 3s I’m allowed to take,” he joked after a recent practice. “With (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich), I have an agreement. I’m not going to be greedy.”

Having finished below 30 percent on 3s in four of the past five seasons, it’s still hard to determine if Parker’s shooting is just a fluke at this point. But his performance from the corners has been fairly consistent in recent campaigns.

Of Parker’s 62 makes over the past four seasons, 44 have come from the corners. He’s been especially effective from the right wing, sinking 23 of 45 attempts during that span. Parker is 6 for 9 from that spot this season, and 11 for 22 from both wings compared to just 2 for 10 above the breaks.

Parker was 2 for 2 from long-range in Sunday’s victory over Dallas — both from the corners — as the Spurs set a franchise record with 20 3s.

As skilled as Parker is at attacking the rim, deploying him as a spot-up shooter on a regular basis would be a waste of his primary talent. But his improving ability to make those shots gives the Spurs yet another wrinkle, particularly when he cedes playmaking responsibilities to, say, Manu Ginobili, who has developed into a de facto point guard in the latter stages of his career.

“There’s a lot of great shooters on my team,” Parker said. “My job is to try and penetrate and get everybody open. If I’m open in the corner, I’ll take it. On the other ones, I’ll try to penetrate and get somebody open.”

“It can help when Manu does his pick and rolls with Timmy (Duncan), the fact I shoot better in the corners. They have to respect it and they have to stay on me. So it can open the lane for Tiago (Splitter) or Timmy when they go for a layup.”

Parker isn’t going to be earning any invitations to participate the 3-Point Shootout. But his improvement as a long-range marksman shows that he’s still willing to push himself to get better after more than a decade in the league.